HungryMan Gallery San Francisco, presents Impact, featuring work by Chris Bradley with Meryl Olah.

Sometimes the simplicity of a scene creates clear associations between objects and their meaning. At first glance, both the nature and purpose of the object is clear. On the other hand, sometimes the chaos of a scene masks the true nature and purpose of an image. Impact explores the simplicity within the complex and the complexity within the simple. The artists' attempt to address whether form or impact prevails in the viewer's experience.

Bradley alters windshields to immediately reject the original form and purpose of the objects, while at the same time embracing the implications of an event specific effect. The destructed windshield brings to mind specific and clear associations - a collision, an accident, a violent act. These associations are complicated by the reuse, alteration and appropriation of the material. The intentionality of the new forms of the windshields calls into question the significance of their clear associations. Olah, on the other hand, creates chaos through collections of black and white photographs of domestic objects. The objects themselves present no clear purpose. However, through arrangement, they are intended to formulate a meditative dialogue in order to alleviate the anxiety of disarray. By hammering nails and reproducing gridded sequences, Olah creates a repetition that gives structure to the formation of habitual behaviors, compulsion, and redundancy.

Chris Bradley lives and works in Chicago and received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. He has exhibited throughout the United States, including a recent solo exhibition at Shane Campbell in Chicago. Bradley will also participate with Shane Campbell at NADA Miami 2011.

Meryl Olah lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her BA in Studio Art from Mills College in 2011. She has been featured in Bullett Magazine and worked with Wax Idols on their video, "All Too Human".

October 8 — November 19, 2011

Opening Reception 7-10pm, October 8